Board of Directors

Brigadier Ian Inshaw DL
Chairman

Ian completed his 34 years army service as the Garrison Commander of Bicester Garrison in 1999. Since then he has been involved in consultancy in various fields and was Chairman of the Oxfordshire Ambulance Trust and the North East Primary Care Trust. He had the honour of being the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 2008/9 and is a Deputy Lieutenant of the County. He is currently the Chairman of P3 Eco Bicester which has facilitated the first Eco Town in the Country. He has been Chairman of The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust since 2006. He is married with two children and three Grandchildren and his interests include his family history, linking businesses with charities, DIY and the countryside.

Brigadier David Innes OBE
Trustee Director

David Innes was the first commanding officer of the 5th Battalion Royal Green Jackets, a new Territorial Army battalion raised in the mid 1980s and based in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. on the Board David represents the interests of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, the Royal Green Jackets and todays regiment, The Rifles, and is responsible for fundraising.

Colonel Christopher Laurence MBE QVRM TD
Trustee Director

Colonel Chris Laurence commanded the QOOH Squadron from 1983 to 1989 and went on to command 39 (City of London) Signal Regiment (Special Communications)(Volunteers) in 1992. In civilian life he is a veterinary surgeon and has held senior positions in the RSPCA and Dogs Trust. Chris is the current Chairman of the Oxfordshire Yeomanry Trust and chairs the SOFO Finance Committee.

Colonel John Bridgeman CBE TD DL
Trustee Director

John is Chairman of various companies and organisations in the public, private and third sectors and has particular expertise in charities and charitable trusts and a vast range of industries. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant in November 1989 and was awarded the CBE in 2001. John was High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1995.

Dr Dennis Blease DL PhD
Trustee Director

Dennis Blease was a Gunner Officer, who served in the British Army for 36 years and retired in 2008. During the latter part of his service he worked mainly with NATO, but also with the EU and UN. Since retiring from the Army, he has worked as an independent consultant lecturing and advising on security and justice reform in developing countries. He has also combined active involvement in local matters within the Vale of White Horse with part-time doctoral studies at Cranfield University, Shrivenham, gaining his PhD in 2018. He is churchwarden of his local church and a Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire.

Major Tom Shannon TD PhD FIE(Aust.) CPEng (Biomed.)
Trustee Director

Tom has served as an Australian national serviceman, regular soldier, naval reserve sailor and finally as a Territorial rifleman in the County Regiment. He is a founder of the Oxford Metrics Group plc with over 30 years of international and commercial experience as a practicing engineer and scientist with a focus on the medical applications of computer vision to human motion and shape. Tom currently holds a Visiting Professorship within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Staffordshire University researching adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and is married with two children and grandchildren. In his spare time he is also a passionate amateur historian and a sheep and cattle farmer in Somerset.

Marie-Jane Barnett
Chairman of the Friends of SOFO

Marie-Jane is the chairman of the friends and praetorians. She is responsible for organising our most successful events including lunches and parties, just as you would expect from the Lady of Towersey manor. She was High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 2010 and has a passion for jazz music as well as being a talented jazz singer herself.